What to do if your checked luggage does not arrive at your destination or arrive damaged? George Albert Brown, author of "The Airline Passenger's Guerrilla Handbook" suggests:

1. Immediately find the airline's baggage officer or roving baggage staff member in the baggage claim area. Under many airlines' conditions of carriage, you've got only four hours in which to notify them about loss of or obvious damage to baggage. In the case of less-obvious damage, many of the airlines require notice within 24 hours. Some conditions go so far as to state that "acceptance of baggage by the bearer of a claim check without filing a written complaint shall constitute evidence of delivery of your baggage, with all original contents, in good condition," so to be safe, you should fill out the claim before you leave the airport if you have any complaint about the state of your bags.

2. Once you find the right person or place, ask for a form to fill out. Don't waste time complaining to the staff member. Nothing can get done until you fill out a form.

3. Don't take the form home to fill out — even if you have seven days, three weeks or 45 days to file a written claim. (For the appropriate limit, look at the small print on the back of your ticket or ask to see the airline's conditions of carriage.) You want to make sure that you've got everything you need now to get things started.

4. Fill out the form. In the process, be sure to:

(a) Check that the form you are filling out is not just a report of your lost or damaged luggage but also embodies a claim for damages. Some airlines have two different forms, particularly in the case of lost luggage. If the form is not a claim form, ask for one and fill it out as well. In the case of lost luggage, the airline may not allow you to submit the claim form until your luggage has been determined to be permanently lost; however, by filling out the form immediately, you can go over any points you don't understand with the airline staff as well as be put on notice of anything you will need later when you do submit the claim form.

(b) If your bag is lost or damaged, describe not only the bag but also its contents.

(c) Keep your ticket stub and baggage claim tag. Don't give it to the lost-luggage staff unless the form notes this and is signed by the staff member. Try to get the staff member to make a photocopy instead. As mentioned above, you will need the stub and baggage claim as evidence you checked the luggage on the flight.

(d) Check if the form requires a notarized signature, and if it does, see if a witnessing by the airline staff member is sufficient.

(e) If your luggage has been lost, be sure to request in writing that it be delivered to you when found. Ideally the form will have this request in it. And do ask for the airline's direct phone number for contacting the lost- or missing- luggage department.

Sometimes a theft isn't discovered until after you leave with your luggage from the airport. Examine contents when you arrive at your destination. If there is any loss or damage, call the carrier promptly with flight and baggage receipt information at hand. Make a note of the agent's name and the time and date of your call. Follow up your verbal report with a written one, sent certified to the appropriate airline people.

In June 2002, the U.S. government increased the liability limits for compensation of lost or damaged baggage on most domestic flights (within North America) to $1,250 per passenger for aircraft with fewer than 61 seats and $2,500 for all other aircraft. The liability limit, set by the Warsaw Convention, on most international flights is a paltry $9.07 per pound of checked luggage, up to a maximum compensation of approximately $640, and $400 for carry-on items. (Unpleasant surprise: If you are traveling to an international destination, this limit applies also to the domestic portion of your trip, even if the domestic ticket is separate from the international one, and even if you claim and re-check your bags between the two flights.) Your loss will be further aggravated by the airlines' insistence on paying depreciated value on your claim, not the original purchase or replacement price of items.

In addition to filing prompt reports and making note of all personnel and events involved in baggage loss or damage, it's also important to direct your unresolved claims and complaints to the right people in charge. Here are the consumer affairs/customer service numbers to call regarding baggage claim problems for nine major airlines: Alaska Airlines, (206) 431-7425; America West, (602) 693-6719; American, (800) 535-5225; Continental, (800) 335-2247; Delta, (800) 325-8224; Northwest, (800) 648-4897; Southwest, (214) 792-4223; United, (800) 221-6903; and US Airways, (800) 371-4771.

Irene Croft Jr. of Kailua, Kona, is a travel writer and 40-year veteran globetrotter. Her column is published in this section every other week.